“Hopefully everyone had a chance to take a short break and return refreshed.” Achilles held up a cup of coffee. Let’s get back to it. I am going to bring up what Mahina talked about a bit later. I feel like we’ve already lost track in this meeting from the start. And I want to cover some of the other things that we need to cover.”

“That said, Booster is here. He is going to let us know if the folks working on a method to drop out of the scrum as we are all currently locked in. Booster?”

Booster stood up from a chair not at the table and spoke. “We haven’t found anything new. Frankly, if we’ve found anything it’s that short of an emergency on the ship that requires a human to do something, we likely will not be able to exit the scrum. We still have access to real-time ship diagnostics and we are seeing normal, non-repeating fluctuations in the readings. This indicates that they are a legitimate feed and that they are not being fabricated in any way. Of course, we are in a very sophisticated system. I suspect RETA could effectively fabricate believable readings if she tried.”

“It seems like someone would have thought of this potential and created a back door in case of emergency?” Merlin was clearly unsatisfied with this news. Again.

Booster nodded as he grimaced. “The, uh, backdoor is not working. We are being told that we will be allowed to exit the scrum only if it is essential for the lifesaving of an individual or mission critical needs.”

“There’s no way to fake a signal...or...” Mosquito mused and she looked up at the ceiling.

Booster shook his head. “There is no way to fool RETA. No.”

Achilles grunted in frustration. “Well, keep at it. This is unless there are other mission critical steps that would put your time to better use. It doesn’t seem wise to waste resources on something that doesn’t matter for the moment, and we likely can’t do anything about it anyway.”

Ceridwen spoke up. “I might have need of Booster’s services. RETA has tasked us with examining the properties of the irragenic cores we have. It seems like we are heading toward some sort of method to harness the energy held within those cores. I will need someone with some engineering and materials science background. I think that fits Booster, right?”

Booster replied, “That is right in my ballpark. That sounds like an exciting project. What makes you think that we will be harnessing energy?”

“The quests we have been given regarding those irragenic cores have been somewhat specific. For example, one quest asked us to examine the results of bombarding a core with several different types of particles and energies. We have another one that is asking us to determine the core’s interaction with different metals and alloys.”

“Anything interesting to report?” Achilles raised an eyebrow.

“These cores look like smooth gemstones. They are perfectly spherical, and each has a different translucent color. Yet they are NOT gemstones. We think they are not even made of matter as we know it. We could not burn or chip one of them. Something did happen when we passed a current through them, but it was so slight we can’t be certain as to what it was.”

“Do they have resonant frequencies?” Booster asked.

“That...is a good question.” Ceridwen nodded. “Clearly, we could use your help.”

“Have we tried to sunder it yet?” Hardtack added.

“I’m afraid sundering it would work, and we would have nothing to show for it. It would just dissipate or explode. Although I’m not sure we can even try. I did put it in the scanner. It could not identify the material. That means we would be guessing at settings.”

“I would say Ceridwen’s request has greater priority than a potential escape plan that we don't currently need and probably can't create. That is, unless Hardtack has something he needs you for.” Achilles looked at Hardtack.

Hardtack shook his head. “We are on schedule to complete the setup. Even if we weren’t, we just need more grunts to move equipment and install walls more than any real engineering. We should have a well completed by tomorrow. The perimeter wall should be completed in a few days. I’m still waiting for confirmation if we want to set up a greenhouse.”

Ceridwen spoke up again. “Our preliminary analysis is insufficient. The plant and animal life on this planet appear to be inconsistent, as if they have evolved in disparate locations or under radically different conditions. Therefore, I propose expanding aeroponic production and establishing multiple isolated greenhouses to ensure the production of a food supply. We should conduct experiments by growing plants in local soil, both isolated from the environment and inoculated with Earth-sourced bacteria after sterilization. These experiments will yield valuable insights into the planet's suitability for long-term habitation.”

“Ok, that sounds good. Let me know if you need anything else for the science team.” Achilles looked at some notes on a tablet. “Mosquito had some drone footage she wanted to share.”

Several monitors turned on around the room so that regardless of where someone was looking, they had a view of the footage. The footage started with an aerial view of a black tower like the one they had seen in the briefing before this scrum started. Except this tower, was built into the side of a mountain. Half of the side of the tower was buried in the mountain. The tower itself extended up past the edge of the cliff, but not even close to the top of the mountain. It was almost as if the foot of the mountain was scooped out and the tower was placed there.

“This is our target for the ‘Meet The Neighbors’ quest. It is roughly 140 meters tall and 85 meters wide at its widest point. I couldn’t find any entrance point directly on the tower. I did find this on one side.” Mosquito narrated what the footage was showing.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The drone flew in closer to the ground and moved in closer to the edge of where the tower met the mountain. There was an archway there that looked partly blocked with rocky debris as if something had collapsed in the past.

“There’s one other thing that is important.” Mosquito changed the footage to a new stream. The drone was looking at the cliff wall and zoomed in on a triangular piece of rock that was a different color. It was highlighted for a moment to show exactly what they were looking at. The highlight turned off and the triangular piece moved and turned. Suddenly, they realized they were looking at a horn on the head of a goat or rather a goat-like creature.

“Oh wow,” Booster smiled.

“Indeed, we do have neighbors. Wait, it gets better.” Mosquito smiled back.

The camera continued to zoom out and the ‘goat’ turned on 2 legs and adroitly hopped from spot to spot down the near sheer cliff face at a rather fast pace. It was an impressive sight. Then, Mosquito stopped the footage and zoomed in again. Something else was highlighted. The ‘goat’ had a bag. It appeared to be somewhat roughly woven and was in the form of a courier bag. And he was wearing pants and some type of vest.

Gasps sounded around the room.

Achilles covered his face in his hands. “This changes everything.”

Everyone in the meeting sat there stunned for a moment. Booster noted that Skeet had this maniacal grin on her face as she watched everyone flounder. The tip of her tongue was slightly sticking out between her teeth on one side.

“Okay, okay.” She laughed and held up her hands. “Let me help you out. I’ve had a bit of fun. I sat like this for 30 minutes myself. RETA, what can you tell us about this little friend of ours on the screen here.”

“This is one of the more advanced species on the planet. They are at about a bronze age level of technology. The exact population is not known. They have about a dozen or so enclaves within a 300-kilometer range of the landing site. The actual number of enclaves appears to expand and contract frequently due to the hostility of wildlife in the area.”

Merlin spoke up first. “RETA we were told that there was no intelligent life on the planet. Does this life truly exist on the planet, or is it merely a facet of the scrum?”

Skeet nodded and touched the tip of her nose and pointed at Merlin to indicate he was on the right track.

“The data from the probe did not indicate any intelligent life.”

“Then, this is coming from whatever secondary source that is feeding us intel from the planet.” Booster spoke up.

“This information is confirmed. This individual on the screen is not an actual individual but a representation made for the scrum. This species does live on the planet. We are not receiving real time data.”

Achilles leaned back and growled. “I feel like we are back at square one. We have mysterious data, and our own systems aren’t cooperating. If I was watching this horror vid, I would feel almost certain that the people in it were doomed.”

RETA continued. “There is no perceived or imminent danger to the ship or its population. While not all data or the sources of the data are currently available, it seems a matter of course for the source to be revealed. With every bit of data we collect, the source must become apparent.”

Booster scowled. That was not only a ‘not terrible’ analysis, but she was almost defending herself.

Skeet decided to add a bit more to the conversation. “I’ve had a little more time to come to grips with this. Argyra is a big planet. We could literally land anywhere. And we also know that there is no major civilization. Unless it’s all underground.” She shrugged. “We have a chance to do good things here. Hopefully, these goat people aren’t hostile by nature. I mean, look at him. He’s not even wearing any kind of leather. He doesn’t appear to have any weapon. It doesn’t strike me as a pscyho-alien cannibal goatman.”

“Cannibals would eat their own kind.” Booster said.

“That dude looks like he eats his veggies.” Skeet pointed at the screen.

“The simple truth is, we don’t know. ‘That dude’ could eat brains and babies for all we know.” Ceridwen stated. “Well, it's evident that considerable effort has been made to acquaint us with this world. Perhaps we should embrace the opportunity and proceed with our usual operations. If the information proves to be accurate, it could significantly enhance the success of our colony establishment. I concur with RETA's perspective. Increasing our data collection efforts will improve our chances of identifying the source of this mystery. Dwelling on uncertainties while being unable to take action is unproductive. The most effective approach to achieving our goal is to move forward.”

Achilles stared at the floor for a moment. “You’re right, Ceridwen. I apologize for letting my worry get the best of me there. This is still an unbelievable opportunity. We just need to make sure we are going to be good neighbors. Historically, humans have not been great at that with each other. We will have the chance now.”

Mako looked at Skeet. “More than ever, I need intel on that cliff and the tower. If we mess up this first encounter, I think we will all regret it.”

“The problem is that my drones can’t get far in before losing signal.” Skeet looked pensive as she tried to work the problem.

“I could make up some relays that drones could plant. We could even just daisy-chain relays and set them up to charge wirelessly. That would require more drones, but it is possible.” Booster offered.

“That could work.” Skeet nodded.

“I’ll get another tech to help you out with that since Booster is going to help out Ceridwen.” Hardtack said.

“Only so much Booster to go around.” Booster shrugged.

Medusa snorted.

“Did you have something to add, Medusa?” Achilles asked.

“Uh, no sir. The perimeter has been quiet with only minor incidences with smaller wildlife.” Medusa said quickly.

“I’m thankful for something going straight-forward.” Achilles said. “So, one more thing. Mahina’s input. Succinctly put, if respawning is an option available to us, we should do more aggressive exploration. If that leads to casualties, then that means we find all the ways we might die and that will speed up the learning curve.”

“That is fine and dandy, as long as we don’t have to constantly restart this scrum and never really get anywhere meaningful.” Merlin pointed out.

“Of course. I think the answer lies with RETA.” Achilles said. “RETA will too many deaths cause a reset of the scrum?”

RETA didn’t answer immediately. People looked at each other for a moment with concern being so accustomed to immediate responses. “While too many deaths could have initiated a reset, the scrum directives have been changed. Since learning as much as possible about Argyra as quickly as possible is the primary directive, the rule about deaths is counterproductive. It has been eliminated.”

“There’s our answer." Achilles clapped his hands together. "Mako, I think we should treat exploration as part of our defense. Perhaps work with Ceridwen to have science personnel accompany exploration teams. I can work with you and Skeet to create a search grid and let’s get teams out there exploring Argyra.”

There was no further business and the meeting adjourned. As they were leaving the room to work on their assigned tasks, Mako tapped Booster on the shoulder.

“Hey, I know it’s not a priority now, but have you spoken with Thaigoon about the whole inability to log out? He seems to have some abilities with the system that go above and beyond typical.”

Booster bit his lip as he thought. “That’s a good point. I kind of forget about him sometimes because he is often not particularly helpful. I’ll see what he says. He might just tell me to bug off, but we don’t know until we ask.”